Shannon Barnet, Becker’s Infection Control & Clinical Quality
Subpar laundering and storage of hospital pillow cases, bed sheets, and draw sheets contributed to massive linen contamination and a zygomycosis infection outbreak in 2015 in one Hong Kong teaching hospital examined in a Clinical Infectious Diseases study.

Shannon Barnet, Becker’s Infection Control & Clinical Quality
Even after being cleaned, hospital mattresses may be contaminated with microorganisms, according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control.

Charles Gilbert and Meg Whynot-Young, FacilityCare
Three months before the Legionnaires’ outbreak in the Bronx, James Rouse’s family and doctors were sure that the 52-year-old music teacher was going to recover from his recent illness. He had been suffering from a slight fever and general malaise and was subsequently admitted to Beth Israel Medical Center in the Bronx. He died one week later.

Ron Harrison, Health Facilities Management
Health care facilities come in more varieties and serve a wider array of functions than ever before. Nursing homes and assisted living facilities play a much different role than doctors’ offices and clinics. Outpatient centers and hospitals can be more different than they are alike.

Amy Eagle, Health Facilities Management
While the health care industry is in a building boom of small, off-site facilities, large-scale medical centers are still being delivered. And they're proving that big doesn't necessarily mean imposing or inefficient.

Kelly M. Pyrek, Infection Control Today
Infection preventionists (IPs) continue to be consumed with keeping up with evolving infection prevention imperatives, according to an online survey conducted by ICT that asked respondents what they believed were the most important issues facing the entire infection prevention and hospital epidemiology community in 2016.

Infection Control Today
Each year norovirus and the winter flu grab the headlines, with particular attention paid to their effects on hospitals and health care facilities as wards are forced to close and patients kept waiting.

Shannon Barnet, Becker’s Infection Control & Clinical Quality
Alsco Group — an Australia-based supplier of workwear, linen, safety, and cleanliness office products — has published seven different hand hygiene posters health care facilities can display in their washrooms, offices, workplaces, and other public areas.

Becker’s Infection Control & Clinical Quality
One of the ways health care associated infections spread is through contaminated surfaces.

Max Green, Becker’s Infection Control & Clinical Quality
CMS and the CDC have begun a three-year pilot project that will use data from educational pilot surveys conducted in nursing homes and hospitals to evaluate the efficacy of current infection control assessment efforts.

Gwen Moran, Fast Company
For many, a new year on the calendar means that it’s time for personal and professional goal-setting and resolutions. But, before you start mapping out your game plan for landing that new job or promotion, it might be time to think about whether the same old ways of getting ahead are actually holding you back, says Vicki Salemi, career expert at employment website Monster.

Samantha Sharf, Forbes
At the end of a deep Twitter rabbit-hole late last year I found myself on the Kickstarter page for something called The Spark Planner. The pitch began: "How successful could you be if you stopped being slowed down by day-to-day distractions, and started making real, tangible progress on your most important work and goals?"

Plan your education for 2016. View AHE’s brand-new 2016 ENGAGE brochure to learn more about educational courses, podcasts, webinars, and events.

Take a quick virtual tour by watching the AHE Learner Community Orientation video.

Course runs from Jan. 25 - April 3
To win in today’s challenging job market, you must distinguish yourself from the competition. If you are a new manager or supervisor in environmental services, consider building your professional knowledge and developing critical skills through enrollment in the Foundations for Success in Environmental Services Management course.

Continuing Professional Education Credits: At the end of this course you will receive twelve (12) continuing professional education (CPE) credits towards your CHESP renewal.

Cost: AHE Members: FREE; Non-Members: $259.00

Recycling materials from end-of-life electronics is the most effective solution to the growing e-waste problem in health care. Most electronic devices contain a variety of materials, including metals that can be recovered for future uses.

If interested in contributing to EXPLORE by authoring a best-practices article, email Heather Williams, EXPLORE editor, for more information. The magazine covers all aspects relevant to health care environmental services professionals.

Q&A with Terri Nelson, RN, MA, EXPLORE magazine
We asked Terri Nelson, RN, MA, value analysis manager with Mayo Clinic, a few questions about selecting the best health care textile products.

John Scherberger, BS, CHESP, REH, EXPLORE magazine
It’s been said environmental services professionals interact with patients as much as nursing staff, and often times more so. Regardless of one’s opinion, it’s a fact both professions render a special kind of treatment and care. Keep in mind that treatment and care are not synonymous, yet both are absolutely essential to patients.